What kind of payment methods are there online?

In today’s e-commerce and m-commerce universe, paying in cash is fast becoming a dwindling economy. The retail industry and all its stakeholders work together to make it easier for consumers to buy to keep the industry alive and flourishing.

A lot of brick and mortar businesses are slowly shifting to e-commerce, and lately, m-commerce. Take giants like Amazon and WalMart. Unfortunately, companies have a lot to learn about consumers when it comes to online transactions. Their behaviour and preferences are very different when they transact online from when they purchase goods and services at physical stores.

For consumers, there are tons of choices readily available to make that transaction push through at a convenient and efficient pace.

There are plenty of online payment options available. Here are the most common all around the world.

Bank / Credit / Debit card payments

This is most popular payment method in almost all countries like the US, Mexico, Brazil, China, South Korea, India, Singapore, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, Australia, Canada, Chile, Hongkong, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, France, Greece, Norway, Spain, Israel, and South Africa. And why not? It is pretty straight forward. There is no cash out on your part and to ensure the security of the transaction, you can employ a two-step authentication process to verify and confirm the transaction. Though hackers will always try to steal your credit information, IT security in banks is regularly beefed up to limit the banks’ and the consumers’ exposure to such risks.

PayPal

Though it is not the number one option in any country, PayPal is the most common payment system worldwide. It is also one of the most trusted, if not the most, in the world. Retailers partnered with online payment platforms like this, including others like 2CheckOut and Moneris, to make consumers’ online transactions hassle-free, connecting consumers and retailers from different parts of the globe. Their reach is not limited unlike banks that may not have branches in every country.

eWallets

eWallets can be used for online and physical store payments. Like PayPal, it might not be the number one payment of choice but it is one of the top 3, globally. Similar to online payment platforms, your bank account can be linked to a digital wallet, or an eWallet, so you don’t have to carry cash. Instead you can share your credit information over a secure system and, voila, the transaction is done.

So when purchasing good or services online, there is a wide range of secure payments systems available to you. It may be clothing, groceries, concert tickets, in-app purchases, mobile billing casino, or booking your airplane tickets, you can be sure your transaction will be kept safe from prying eyes.